Serum metabolomics in chickens infected with Cryptosporidium baileyi

Parasites & Vectors

Xian-Cheng Fan¹  Long-Xian Zhang²  Yu-Xin Wang³  Xin Yang³  Jun-Ke Song³  Xue-Mei Wu³  Guang-Hui Zhao³  Xi Chen³ 

[1] Center of Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Huyi District, 710300, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China;College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, 450046, Zhengzhou, People’s Republic of China;Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, 712100, Yangling, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: Chicken;    Cryptosporidium baileyi;    Serum sample;    Metabolomics;    Pathway analysis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-021-04834-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCryptosporidium baileyi is an economically important zoonotic pathogen that causes serious respiratory symptoms in chickens for which no effective control measures are currently available. An accumulating body of evidence indicates the potential and usefulness of metabolomics to further our understanding of the interaction between pathogens and hosts, and to search for new diagnostic or pharmacological biomarkers of complex microorganisms. The aim of this study was to identify the impact of C. baileyi infection on the serum metabolism of chickens and to assess several metabolites as potential diagnostic biomarkers for C. baileyi infection.MethodsUltraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and subsequent multivariate statistical analysis were applied to investigate metabolomics profiles in the serum samples of chickens infected with C. baileyi, and to identify potential metabolites that can be used to distinguish chickens infected with C. baileyi from non-infected birds.ResultsMultivariate statistical analysis identified 138 differential serum metabolites between mock- and C. baileyi-infected chickens at 5 days post-infection (dpi), including 115 upregulated and 23 downregulated compounds. These metabolites were significantly enriched into six pathways, of which two pathways associated with energy and lipid metabolism, namely glycerophospholipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism, respectively, were the most enriched. Interestingly, some important immune-related pathways were also significantly enriched, including the intestinal immune network for IgA production, autophagy and cellular senescence. Nine potential C. baileyi-responsive metabolites were identified, including choline, sirolimus, all-trans retinoic acid, PC(14:0/22:1(13Z)), PC(15:0/22:6(4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)), PE(16:1(9Z)/24:1(15Z)), phosphocholine, SM(d18:0/16:1(9Z)(OH)) and sphinganine.ConclusionsThis is the first report on serum metabolic profiling of chickens with early-stage C. baileyi infection. The results provide novel insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of C. baileyi in chickens.Graphic abstract

【 授权许可】

CC BY